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Klinikowski reviews Robin Newbold's Vacuum Packed |
| Vacuum
Packed by Robin Newbold Paperback: 260 pages Publisher: Lulu.com; (January 2004) ISBN: 1411603974 Whew! VACUUM PACKED is one hell of a disturbing read. This fact, however, works both for and against the book. The stories of two gay, London residents in their early twenties, struggling through the stark and ugly final years of the twentieth century, are on one hand morbidly fascinating, while on the other, horrendously depressing. If you’re looking for a light entertaining distraction, then, by all means, pass on this novel, but if you are fascinated by the seamy under-belly of a drug-addled, sex-obsessed gay sub-culture, where chemically induced satisfaction and indiscriminate sex are the behavior-patterns du jour, then this is most definitely a book for you. As our tale unfolds, Jamie and Craig have split-up. Jamie, self-absorbed and cynical, is enraged by Craig’s confession of his HIV positive status. When Craig needs him most, Jamie walks defiantly away, leaving Craig to ponder his uncertain future alone. For Jamie it is just one more let-down in a life full of disappointments. Jamie yearns to be hip and magazine-cool but, try as he may he never really finds the formula for this kind of superficial, hedonistic success. While he is cute and buff, there is always someone hotter around to spoil his ego-trip. He can’t live up to the socio-economic standard he has set for himself. For Jamie, it is easier to get lost in a haze of drugs and alcohol than to face this bitter reality. Craig is hurt and horribly disillusioned. He desires nothing more than to escape his suffocating existence while he still can. Craig wants to travel to the distant corners of the globe where he can forget his immediate problems. He too refuses to face the realities of his life. The last thing he wants to deal with is his HIV diagnosis and all of its ramifications. With the financial help of his supportive mother and step-father, Craig takes a leave-of-absence from his nursing job, and boards a plane for Bangkok. Jamie, stuck in frigid London, loses his insignificant job in a trendy club, and, as a last resort, contacts a gay-porn director who has taken a fancy to him, and offered him some “film work”. While he never, in his wildest dreams, imagined himself taking it up the arse on screen, the money does help to pay the rent and feed his drug and alcohol habit; a habit that allows him to emotionally distance himself from this questionable choice of occupation. A vicious circle if you will. Jamie also mooches-off his guilt-ridden and physically abused mother, both resenting and pitying her as he squeezes her heart and purse-strings for yet another wad of cash. Jamie is barreling full-throttle down a highway of self-destruction, and he knows it, but he is unable and unwilling to see an exit. Meanwhile, Craig, intent on experiencing Thailand’s notorious gay life, takes up residence in the Malaysia Hotel, a well-known establishment catering to the European and American sex-tourist trade. Craig quickly immerses himself in the red-light, anything-for-a-price culture of the teaming tropical city. Eye-candy is everywhere, and every piece can be bought. Craig has landed smack dab in the middle of a crude and lust-filled sweet-shop, and while he initially gorges himself, it isn’t long before his conscience develops a tummy ache. This is a well written, gut-wrenching novel. The descriptive details are remarkable, and the situations, uncomfortably riveting, but the overall effect is gloomy and demoralizing, leaving a sour taste on the tongue. There is nothing to be hopeful for in Jamie’s world, except for an evening’s sexual possibilities, and a line of blow. What little light shines on Craig’s existence is half-hearted at best. The text doesn’t vary from this incredibly depressing format. The reader is never allowed to forget that life for these two holds very little promise. This inordinately bleak attitude unfortunately causes one to lose all empathy for the two main characters, and forces one to stay detached, rather than getting emotionally involved; as if watching a train wreck from a safe distance. It is hard to pull your eyes away from the ensuing tragedy, yet you are disgusted and saddened by what you see. This is gritty, thought-provoking stuff for those who have the stomach for it. |